Pbopulsion of automobile torpedoes



H. MAXIM.

PROPULSIOII 0F AUTOMOBILE TORPEDQES. APPLICATION FILED FEB. I4. i912.

1I. 311. I. 5,98%:, v Patented Augu 5, 1919.

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EN orme HUDSON MAXIM, OF HOPATCONG, NEW JERSEY.

PROPULSION 0F AUTOMOBILE TORI/PEDOES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 5, 1919,

Application filed February 14,1917. Serial No. 148,558.

T 0 all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, HDsoN MAXIM, of the borough of Hopatcong, county of Sussex, State of New Jersey, with post-office .address Landing, New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Propulsion of Self-Propelled or Automobile Torpedoes, of which the following is a specification.

The object of the invention is mainly to provide in a more efficient and practical manner than heretofore for the evaporation of water and the production of steam for actuating a turbine or other propelling means for driving torpedoes through the water.

Heretofore compressed air has been employed in torpedoes for the combusting atmosphere or supporter of combustion, and alcohol has mainly been employed as the fuel, and the heat of combustion'utilized for evaporating the water, and the products of combustion and steam employed for actuating a turbine or other engine for driving the torpedo.

In order to attain the maximum of speed and range, greater and greater air pressures and heavier and more expensive air flasks have been employed, and the water supply tank reduced to minimum of size and weight,

or water has been pumped from the sea dur-l ing the run for the production of steam, instead of carrying the water on board, thereby consuming a portion of the useful energy for driving the torpedo in running the pump.

Four-fifths of the weight of air carried in the flask of compressed air is inert nitrogen, and this nitrogen is not only inert but also consumes heat to raise it to the required temperature as a motive fluid. By the employment of pure oxygen, according to my invention, I am able, however, to provide more than five times the amount of available energy in the same space and with the same pressure as is rendered available by the use of compressed air, and by this means I may with practically the same apparatus as that employed in the usual form of torpedo, secure either five times the range now secured, or both greater speed and longer range, or I may still secure greater speed and longer range than is 'attained by the usual torpedo with considerably less gas pressure, less Weight of gas or air flask, and a fiask of lighter weight and of cheaper construction. Furthermore, I may employ a gas or air flask only two-fifths as large as the present torpedo, or I may reduce the size and weight of the present air flask sufficiently to ena-ble me to carry a very much larger explosive charge in the war-head.

When burning any fluid fuel in an atmosphere of oxygen under a pressure of 300 to 500 pounds to the square inch, the violence of the reaction of combustion is greatly increased above that which occurs under atmospheric pressure.

It is Well-known that when acetylene or other fluid fuel is burned in an atmosphere of pure oxygen gas, the combustion is very violent, the heat developed very great and very intense, while the size of the fiame is comparatively small, being localized to a very circumscribed Zone of combustion.

The difficulty of utilizing oxygen instead of compressed air in a torpedo for burning a fuel and evaporating water to drive a turbine, is great, but by means of the present invention such trouble is entirely obviated by mixing water with a fuel such as acetone charged with acetylene, before burning it, the presence of Water serving to retard or lessen the violence of the combustion in proportion to the quantityvof water employed.

It has been found that acetone possesses such a strong affinity for acetylene and such a power of absorption of acetylene gas that even under atmospheric pressure it will absorb many times its own volume of the gas, while under increased pressure it a'bsoribs correspondingly larger quantities, and that when a pressure is employed sufficient to liquefy acetylene gas at a given temperature, the liquid acetylene and the acetone are miscible, or soluble in each other in all proportions, and that if and when the liquid acetylene contains as small a quantity as ten per cent. of acetone, the liquid acetylene is rendered practically non-explosive.

Furthermore, I have found that acetone charged with acetylene gas to saturation, even under atmospheric pressure, may be mixed with several times its weight of water, the acetone holding the acetylene in solution in the water, and the mixture burned like gasolene in an internal combustion engine, and that when charged with acetylene under a still higher pressure, the quantity of water that may-be mixed with the .acetoneacetylene fluid and burned, is considerably decreased, until a point is reached where the acetone fails tohold all of the acetylene in solution in the water.

' evaporation of the contained Water.

Acetylene being a gas very high in carbon and also an endo-thermic body, when burned in an atmosphere of pure oxygen, the reaction of combustion is still more violent than with other fluid fuels, the zone of flame still more circumscribed, and the heat still more intense.

I have found that When a certain proportion of Water is added to a mixture of acetylene and acetone, the zone of flame or combustion is greatly enlarged, the heat rendered much less intense and less local, While the quantity of heat evolved by the combustion remains the same, a portion of the heat being absorbed, however, in Ttllile e more Water that is added the more pronounced are these results, up to the point Where enough vWater is added to prevent combustion.

I have found, therefore, that in practising the present invention a certain and considerable proportion of Water may With advantage be added to acetone charged with acetylene, and burned for the production of a motive fluid consisting of the products of combustion of the acetylene and acetone and the steam produced, for actuating a turbine or other engine for driving a tor! With the acetone-acetylene fuel and burned,

and additional Water admitted to the combustion chamber to be evaporated by the j excess of heat contained in the products of combustion over and above the heat required for the evaporation of the Water contained in the fuel itself. When acetone is charged with acetylene under pressure and the pressure relieved, a large proportion of the acetylene is released or distilled out of the acetone, leaving the acetone behind as a residuum.

Therefore, as acetylene gas is not miscible or soluble in Water to any considerable extent, in order to place both the fuel tank and the Water tank in the torpedo under equal pressure, I connect the top of the fuel tank with the Water tank and thereby permit the acetylene gas to escape from the acetone in the fuel tank and enter the space on top of the Water in the Water tank,

thereby subjecting the Water to the-same` pressure as that exerted in the fuel tank. As the fuel and Water are drawn off and a larger space created both top of the Water and the fuel, that extra space is continuously filled with the released acetylene, and the pressure is thereby maintained substantially undiminished until all or nearly all of both the fuel and the Water are drawn off.

For the reason that the acetylene is distilled ofll from the acetone leaving the residual acetone behind in the fuel tank, I may and sometimes do, especially in making tryout runs of torpedoes, draw off the acetylene from the to of the tank for supplying combustion for the evaporation of Water instead of drawing 'off the acetone itself, and after the run the residual acetone may be recharged with acetylene for another run. When. employing the acetylene gas in this manner it is necessaryV to employ an atomizer or mixer through which both the acetylene gas and the Water are passed immediately before entering the burner, in

order to facilitate combustion and the 4 Water and other fuel. Obviously, then, this invention provides a means both for the very inexpensive operation of torpedoes in peace practice, when maximum range or speed is not required, and in time of War a most effectual means for propelling torpedoes at a more considerable and yet permissible expense by the employment of acetone charged with acetylene unadulterated With any other fuel, in the manner I have described.

When employing another fuel besides acetylene or acetylene and acetone. especially When employing a heavy fuel oil, such as asphalt oil, as a fuel, I preferably admit a certain proportion of the oil into the path of the mixture of acetylene, acetone and Water, and then preferably pass the same through a mixing or atomixing device, preferably located near to the burner so that when the mixture enters the burner it is in an intimately commingled condition, and when the oxygen comes in contact with .the fuel jet, effectual and satisfactory combustion takes place.

When proceeding in this manner With the combined use of a heavy fuel oil and a gaseous fuel, preferably acetylene, I may and sometimes do employ the acetylene alone in a gaseous state instead of combined with acetone. The acetylene gas commin gles With the other fuel and Water and thus serves as a torch or continuous igniter or accelerator of combustion of the heavy fuel.

When a gaseous fuel or a volatile liquid fuel is employed in conjunction with oxyl pump zle and thim le.

gen, great care-is necessary to prevent the escape of th'e oxygen and its commingling with ythe fuel, thus producing an explosive mixture. Tov obviate this danger I provide an absolutely sealed joint by brazing or by soldering a fragile metallic. cap vor diahragm over the outlet orifice, thereby closing the containerof the oxygen. I may close the fuel container in like manner if desired, at the same time temporarily supporting the cap against fracture from internal pressure by pressure externally applied until the torpedo is about to go into action.

With this general understanding of the improvements, .a detailed description of an apparatus adapted to carry them out will now be given with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1, is a longitudinal sectional view of so much `of lan automobile torpedo as yis necessary to a proper description of the invention;

Fig. 2, is a cross-section of the same taken on the line 2, 2, of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3, is an enlarged central'section of the device for sealing the opening leading from either or all of the pressure-containing flasks or tanks.

Referring to said drawings, A, represents the shell of an ordinary service torpedo, say for instance` of the Whitehead type; B, the oxygen flask; E, E', the fuel tanks; and W, the Water tank. lAssociated with these is the combustion chamber C, from w ch leads a conduit D directing the mixed products of combustion and steam to a suitable turbine engine or other motor M, to drive the propeller shaft S, and also a water The oxygen from the flask B, is .led by a pipe or tube a, to a sealing device F, see Fig.

-3, which tightly seals the outlet from the ask until Just before the torpedo is to go into action and thus prevents the leakage `fof oxygen and the consequent loss of pressure in the flask. This device consists of a casing l0 having a flange 11 adapted to be selcured .to the inner surface of the torpedo shell A. The nozzle end Of the pipe a,.is screw-threaded into the lower end of the casing and is covered by a coppercap, thimble or diaphragm 12 that is brazed to the walls of the nozzle and flanged to be firmly seated and tightly squeezed between a shoulder on the pipe and a sharp-edged seat 2,-on the casing i mediately surrounding the noz- 'Ihe head of the thimble is held firmly in place `against the pressure in the pipe by thev concaved face of thel nonrotating head 13, of4 a screw-threaded stem 14, the threads engaging similar threadsDin the casing. S0 long as the head is tightly held against the'head of the thimble it is prevented from being fractured and no escape of the gas occurs.

When, however, the torpedo is about to used, the head 13, is raised by a proper tool entered through a. perforation 3, in the shell and casing to rotate the threaded stem 14, whereupon the pressure immediately ruptures the head of the thimble so that the high pressure gas may pass outward through the pipe b.-

From the sealing. device F, the oxygen is.

led by a pipe b to the starting valve G, of usual construction, opened during the movement of the torpedo through its launching tube by its valve lever g, striking a projection on the tube. From this valfe the gas passes to an ordinary pressurereducing valve R, and thence under reduced pressure by a pipe H, to the combustion chamber C, at a point in proximity to the fuel burner N.

The fuel-containing tanks E and E', (one or many may be employed) communicate with each other by a pipe c at their undersides, so that only one leading-olf pipe I, need be used. The water tank W is provided with a leading-0H pipe K, and its contents are held under the same pressure as that in the fuel tanks by a communicating pipe fw, at the upper sides. The pipes K and L join at the union Z, so that the fuel and water pass together to a stop valve O and thence by a pipe I through a.mixing chamber J to the burner N. The stem of the valve O has a lever e, connected by la rod i, to another lever c on the stem of the starting valve G, so that when said valve is opened, the valve -O will be simultaneously opened to allow the fuel and Water to pass onward to the burner. The mixing chamber J, is provided With baliie plates j, to insure a more thorough commingling af the fuel and water on their onward passage.

The fuel mixture may be ignited in the combustion chamber, in the presence of the oxygen supplied by the pipe H, by any suitable 'means, such,for instance, as an incandescent Wire in circuit with a source of electricity U.

The products of combustion in a i'lameblast, mi led with super-heated steam, pass through t e combustion chamber C, thence into the.,conduit D, carryingwith them water admitted to the combustion chamber onward through baille plates d, contained in the conduit D, whereby the additional water is instantly atomizedvand evaporated, and the excessive heat contained in the products of combustion thereby utilized in the production of additional steam. Upon the op-y urner, so that the water therefrom is steam to augment and become thoroughly mixed with those products as they pass onward to operate the motor.

Vliile the pump is supplying water to the combustion chamber, water may also be fed to the tank V by pipe s, leading from the pipe Q to the bottom of said tank. 'llliisV Also, the water either with or without the separate tank may be illedinto the fuel tank and held by the fuel tank oi: tanks to be passed with the acetylene-charged acetone as a composite unit to the burner.

As the Asize of the flask due to the use of oxygen may be much reduced, the needed amount of water to be converted into steam to make a run may obviously be contained by a sufficiently large tankor tanks carried by the torpedo, and hence the necessity for the pump be avoided.

Instead of feeding the acetone charged with acetylene to the burner, the acetylene may be allowed to distil off from the acetone in the fuel tank or tanks, and accumulating in the top of the saine may -be led off by a pipe L, see dotted lines FigsJ 1 -and 2, and thence by pipes L and I to the burner. The acetone remaining in the fueltank orl 4tanks may be recharged with acetylene for further use.

1t is obvious that the arrangement of the parts and the details of construction shown in the drawings may be widely varied without departing from the invention. Thus the starting valve may be differently constructed and operated. The starting and reducing valves may be contained by a single casing, and the sealing device casing may be east integral with the head of the lflask, thereby avoiding the connecting pipe.

Changes may be made in the construction and' form of` the combustion chamber, the burner, and the mixing chamber, and the sealing device is susceptible of modification. Other tanks mayv beadded containing heavier fuel than acetylene to become mixed therewith and burnt inthe manner herein set forth.

What is claimed i's :f

1. The process of producing a motive fluid for driving torpedoes which consists in commingling water witha fuel continuously burning the fuel in an atmosphere mainly of oxygen under pressure, and thereby evaporating the water and then utilizing' the products of combustion and steam combined for propelling a toi'pedo.

2. The method of driving self-propelled torpedoes which consists in commingling pelling means for driving a torpedo through the water.

3. TheY herein-described method vof producing 'a motive fluid for driving torpedoes which consists in mixing water with acetylene. burning thc acetylene in oxygen, evaporating water with the products of combustion, and then driving the torpedo by means of the escaping steam and products of combustion`.

4. The herein-described method of producing a motive fluid for driving torpedoes, which consists in mixing water with acetylene. burning the acetylene gas in oxygen together vwith another fuel. evaporating water by the flame-blast of the products of combustion, and then utilizing the steam and products of combustion for actuating 'meansfor propelling the torpedo.

5. The herein-described method of producing a motive fluid and driving a torpedo 'with' the same, which consists in commingling water anda gaseous fuel, then burning the saine in an atmosphere of oxygen Iand utilizing the products of combustion and the steam produced as a propelling means for the torpedo. 6. The herein-described method of producing a motive fluid and driving a torpedo with the same, which consists in commingling water and a gaseous fuel, then 'burning the same in an atmosphere of oxygen, utilizing the excess of heat of the products of combustion and contained superheated steam for the evaporation of additional water, and then utilizing theeproducts of combustion of the steam produced as a propelling means for the torpedo.

7. The..hereindescribed method of profducing a motive fluid and driving a torpedo with the same, which consists in coinmingling a gaseous fuel and a non-gaseous fuel with Water, burning the same in an atinosvphere rich in oxygen and utilizing the product-s of combustion and the steam as a propelling means for driving a torpedo.

8. The herein-described method of producing a motive fluid for driving a torpedo, which consists in charging a non-gaseous fuel with a fuel gas and burning the same to evaporate l,water and utilizing the products of combustion to actuate a turbine or other means for driving a torpedo.

9. The herein-described method of producing a motive Huid for driving. a torpedo,

which consists in mixing 'acetylene vvith Water and burning the mixturein an atmosphere of air and oxygen.

l0. The herein-described method of producing a motive 'l'uid for propelling a tor'- pedo, which consists in mixing acetylene and j another fuel with Water and burning the sam'e in au atmosphere of,oxygen or air and oxygen.

l1. The herein-described method of producing a motive fiuid, which consists in mixing With Water a suitable solvent containing acetylene and capable of holding the acetylene in solution in the Water, and then burning the mixture and utilizing the prod. ucts of combustion and the steam producedl for actuatingcmeansfor propelling the torpedo.

12..The herein-described method of securing against escape compressed air or oxygen in a torpedo prior to itsutilization for drivingva torpedo, together with means for effecting its utilization at the' proper moment, Which consists in efectually closing the' exit orifice by means of an impervious metallic diaphragm or partition, united securely to the Walls of the orifice, the said diaphragm being capable of being ruptured by the pressure of the compressed air or oxygen, and normally held against ldisruption by a support or by pressure externally applied, and means for opening the orifice to free the oxygen by removing the external pressure and permitting the diaphragm to be disrupted by the pressure ofV -the contained oxygen or air.

-13. Inan'aut'omobile torpedo, the combination of oxygen, fuel and water containers, a

combustion chamber, means for admitting oxygen, fuel and Water to said chamber on the launching of the torpedo, a suitable motor, a conduit leading thev mixedA prod- .uctsof combustion andy steam to the motor .and a pump operated by the motor supplyf ing Water to the combustion chamber.

14. In anv automobile torpedo, the combination of oxygen, fuel and Water conta'iners, a inixingchamber for the fuel and Water, a combustion chamber, a conduit from thev mixing chamber to the combus- 'tion chamber, a motor'and a conduit leading the mixed products of combustion and steam from the combustion chamber to the Water, a combustion chamber. -a conduit fromvthe mixing chamber to the combustion chamber, means for feeding other Water to the combustion chamber to be converted intosteam, a motor, means for mixing the products of combustion and steam and a conduit leading said mixture to the motor.

in testimony whereof I have signed my name to` this .specification in the presence of` two subscribing Witnesses.

.HUDSON MAxiM.

Witnesses ELISHA TrEvERETr, A' MAY'V. BIRNEY. 

